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Soda Springs planning commission reviews zoning definitions, schedules December public hearing
Summary
At its Oct. 14 meeting the Soda Springs Planning & Zoning Commission reviewed proposed zoning code language on boarding houses, short-term rentals, tiny homes, and preschool/daycare definitions and asked staff to draft precise definitions ahead of a public hearing planned for December.
CHARLES FRYAR, chairman of the Soda Springs Planning & Zoning Commission, convened the Oct. 14 meeting as the panel began a line-by-line review of proposed changes to the city’s zoning code.
Attorney Tom Smith outlined differences between the existing ordinance wording and the recommended edits, and City Planner/Engineer Alan Skinner cautioned that changing the references to boarding and rooming houses would have ripple effects across multiple sections of the code. Vice Chairman Lori Anne Lau and Commissioner Stephen Simmons urged officials to distinguish hotels, motels and inns from short-term rentals and to remove outdated or ambiguous terms.
Smith recommended clarifying conditional uses and permitted uses with consistent language across residential, commercial, agricultural and manufacturing zones. Lau proposed adding 'dwelling units' to several definitions and pressed for updated definitions of 'manufactured home' and 'single-family dwelling.'
The commission discussed renaming 'boarding and rooming houses' to 'boarding houses,' and agreed that the code should include explicit definitions for short-term rentals, 'preschool' and 'daycare center.' Alan Skinner also raised regulation of tiny homes as an item that requires consistent treatment in the ordinance.
Lau asked staff to research and draft proposed definitions for short-term rentals and preschools; the commission agreed to finalize the code edits for a public hearing expected in December. No ordinance or code changes were adopted at the meeting.
Procedural actions taken during the session included approval of the Sept. 9, 2025 meeting minutes (moved by Vice Chairman Lori Anne Lau; seconded by Commissioner Stephen Simmons; vote: all in favor, motion carried) and a motion to adjourn (moved by Commissioner Stephen Simmons; seconded by Vice Chairman Lori Anne Lau; vote: all in favor, motion carried).
The commission listed "new business" on the agenda but no items were discussed under that heading on the record. The commission plans to reconvene for the scheduled public hearing on the draft zoning amendments in December.
